【雅思课外精读】在疫情期间开学会承受多大的风险？

　　【雅思课外精读】在疫情期间开学会承受多大的风险？*注：本文摘自8月29日《经济学人》

　　Covid-19 in schools

　　新冠与学校

　　Other countries show that schools need not be pandemic hotspots

　　其他国家的实践表明，学校并不是新冠重灾区

　　Learning from the world

　　向世界学习

　　1. HOW MUCH of a risk is opening schools during the pandemic? Experience from a number of countries is starting to shed some light.

　　在疫情期间开学的风险有多大?一些国家的事件给出了答案。

　　2. For the children themselves, covid-19 is not a big threat. They usually have mild symptomsor none at all. Among children with symptoms, only 0.1% of those younger than ten and 0.3% of those aged between ten and 19 end up in hospital, a study from Britain shows. For school-aged children, a covid-19 infection is less deadly than most flu infections.

　　对孩子来说，新冠并不是一个大威胁。他们通常只是有轻微症状甚至是根本没有症状。一项来自英国的研究表明，在有症状的儿童中，只有0.1%10岁以下的儿童住院，而在10到19岁的儿童中只有0.3%的儿童住院。对于学龄儿童来说，新冠感染致死率低于大多数流感感染。

　　3. The big worry is that children may spread the virus through school. Studies in households where someone introduced the infection usually find that younger children are much less likely to catch the virus than adults. The evidence for older children is mixed, with some studies concluding that they are as susceptible to infection as adults.

　　最大的担忧是孩子们可能通过学校传播病毒。在有人感染的家庭中进行的研究发现，较年幼的儿童比成年人感染病毒的可能性要小得多。关于年龄稍大的儿童的研究有好有坏，一些研究得出结论说，他们和成年人一样容易受到感染。

　　4. But even if children are infected less easily at home, when they mingle a lot chances are that many of them will pick up the virus. In an overnight summer camp in the state of Georgia in June at least half of the 346 children attending were infected.

　　但是即使孩子们在室内不太容易被感染，但当他们聚集在一起时，他们中的许多人也很有可能染上病毒。今年6月，在乔治亚州的一个通宵夏令营中，参加夏令营的346名儿童中至少有一半被感染。

　　5. Whether the sort of mingling that happens at school is also a recipe for disaster is best judged by looking at countries where schools have reopened. Data from England published on August 23rd are encouraging. Its schools reopened in June for some school years before closing for the summer a month later. In that period only 0.01% of preschools and primary schools had covid-19 outbreaks, affecting 70 children and 128 staff—out of 25,470 infections recorded in England as a whole. Of the 30 school outbreaks involved, the probable source in 20 was a staff member. Students were the source in eight cases, and in two cases the source was unclear.

　　在学校里的这种聚集是否会导致灾难，最好的依据是看看那些已经复课的国家。8月23日英国公布的数据令人鼓舞。6月份英国一些年级复课，但是仅仅一个月之后就由于暑假关闭了。在此期间，只有0.01%的幼儿园和小学感染大爆发，在英国记录的25,470例感染中，有70名儿童和128名教师受到感染。在涉及的30所学校中，20所学校的感染源是学校工作人员，8个学校的感染源是学生，还有两例来源不明。

　　6. That teaching is not exceptionally risky is also the conclusion from Sweden. Staff at its nurseries and primary schools, which never closed, were no more likely to become infected than those in other jobs.

　　教学活动并不危险，这也是瑞典得出的结论。与从事其他工作的员工相比，从未关闭过的托儿所和小学的员工感染新冠的可能性并不高。

　　7. Less clear is the role of secondary schools in infections. They have stayed shut almost everywhere. Outbreaks in France and Israel suggest that the virus could spread more easily in them than in primary schools. Older students may be easier to keep apart in classrooms, but good luck trying to stop them congregating afterwards.

　　中学的感染情况尚不清楚。几乎所有地方的中学都关闭了。在法国和以色列爆发的疫情表明，病毒在中学比在小学更容易传播。让年纪大些的学生在教室里面保持社交距离可能很容易，但是想让他们不要聚集就太难了。

　　8. America would struggle to contain school outbreaks as much of Europe has done, because infection rates in many states are too high and health officials are overwhelmed. Tough choices may be necessary. Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, has warned that pubs might have to close (to keep infections down) so that children can go to school. In America, where any constraint on freedom goes against the grain, such trade-offs may be an even tougher sell.

　　美国将像欧洲一样努力控制疫情在学校爆发，因为许多州的感染率太高，卫生系统不堪重负。艰难的选择可能是必要的。英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊警告说，酒吧可能必须关闭(以减少感染)，这样孩子们才能上学。在美国，任何限制自由的措施都是有违常理的，这样的权衡取舍可能更难让人接受。

　　精读解析

　　篇章结构

　　P1: 直接提出问题：在疫情期间开学的风险有多大?

　　P2—P4：儿童新冠感染率低，但是也有研究和事件表明开学的聚集会导致感染，具体该怎么办还是需要借鉴别的国家的实践。

　　P5—P7：英国，瑞典和其他国家的实践。

　　P8：需要做出一些取舍。

　　重点单词

　　shed light 使某事容易理解; 阐明; 揭示;

　　shed light on 阐明；使…清楚地显出

　　shed light upon 阐明；使明白

　　【例句】

　　Paul says that memo could shed light on a major constitutional debate.

　　保罗表示，这份备忘录可能让人们对一个重要的宪法辩论有进一步的了解。

　　mild symptom轻微症状

　　【例句】

　　The two only had mild symptoms after getting infected.

　　他们被感染后只出现了轻微的症状。

　　school-aged children学龄儿童

　　【例句】

　　About 20 percent of school age children there live in poverty.

　　但20%的学龄儿童生活在贫困当中。

　　susceptible/sə'septɪb(ə)l/ adj. 易受影响的; 易动感情的；过敏的; 易受…感染的；能经受的

　　【短语】

　　susceptible of 容许…的，能…的

　　susceptible to adj. 易受...影响的；对…敏感的

　　be susceptible to 对…敏感；易患…；易受…影响

　　【例句】

　　His statement is susceptible of another interpretation.

　　他的陈述可以有另一种解释。

　　mingle /'mɪŋg(ə)l/ vt. & vi. 混合, 混入, 与…交往[联系]

　　【例句】

　　The two rivers mingle their waters when they join.

　　两河相会时汇流在一起。

　　recipe/'resɪpɪ/ n. 烹饪法; 食谱；方法; 秘诀; 诀窍

　　【例句】

　　If you ask me, that idea sounds like a recipe for disaster.

　　你问我的话，我觉得那个主意听起来不像会有什么好结果。

　　preschool/'priːskuːl/ adj. 未满学龄的;就学前的n. 育幼院;幼儿园

　　【例句】

　　Only 40% of 5-year-olds have access to preschool education.

　　5岁孩童中只有40%能享受学前教育。

　　congregate /'kɒŋgrɪgeɪt/ vt. & vi. (使)集合, 聚集

　　【同根】

　　congregation n. 集会；集合；圣会

　　【例句】

　　The crowds congregated in the town square to hear the President.

　　人群聚集在城内广场上听总统讲话。

　　overwhelm/əʊvə'welm/ vt. 覆盖, 淹没；压倒, 制服; 打败；使某人不知所措

　　【短语】

　　overwhelm by 以…压倒…

　　overwhelming superiority 绝对优势

　　overwhelming majority 压倒性多数

　　【例句】

　　The boat was overwhelmed by the waves.

　　船被浪打翻了。

　　go against the grain背道而驰，违背别人的想法做事

　　【例句】

　　Many people love him because he goes against the grain, but others say he’s bad for sumo.

　　他的独树一帜让他获得了许多人的钟爱，但是还有许多人认为他对相扑产生了坏影响。

　　trade-off/'treidɔf,-ɔ:f/ n. 交换,协定,交易,平衡

　　【例句】

　　We wouldn't trade off our fundamental rights and liberties for any economic advantages.

　　我们不会用自己的基本权利和自由去交换任何经济优势。